SOT: When did the hood badge change? Options

[bbrock]

This might get some knickers in a quibbley but I'm trying to figure out had the 914 design team's vote to badge the car been honored, which badge would have come on my car. Porsche Classics shows the orange badge used through MY 1973 and the red badge beginning in MY 1974, but there is also this graphic showing the switched occurred sometime in '73.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.summitmedia-digital.com-20845-1664031721.1.jpg)

The best I can tell, the switch might have happened with the introduction of the 911 G-series in MY 1974 but I've had a hard time finding when actual production began. I did find this article saying it started in August, 1973 which might be a good clue.

That may be all I need to know, but does anyone have anything to add?

[bbrock]

We've already drifted way off topic so what the heck. First, the charger required is irrelevant because Piech has made no claims about what kind of charger is needed for their claimed fast charge. Even if it needs a special 1,000v charger, their claim is still accurate if they can get the battery pack to 80% charge in 8 minutes. And yes, I checked and the Kia also uses an 800v DC charger to get a fast charge, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. What is important to the consumer is that they get the convenience of refueling comparable to ICE at a competitive cost.

Second, the Piech GT is not a Taycan. The Taycan has a 93.4 kwh battery pack, the P GT has 75 kwh. I would think a 20% smaller battery pack would take less time to charge to 80% even if the charge rates were identical. Third, the P GT weighs 744-1,114 ponds LESS than a Taycan. You of all people know that is a huge range booster. As you always say, it's a system and when we look at the whole system, their claim is less of a "miracle breakthrough" and more of an incremental advancement, but a significant one if they can prove up on their claims. I just don't see why you think this is so far fetched. EV tech is improving rapidly. There was an 8-fold increase in energy density of batteries in the the 12 years prior to 2020 and a 152% increase in average range in a decade as of 2021. None of this required miracle breakthroughs. Just rapid but steady advancement. Only time will tell if Piech can prove up on their claims.

[Superhawk996]

I just don't see why you think this is so far fetched.

Because I’ve been following EVs and the hype since the EV1 was going to change the world in the 1996 - 1999 era.

My 1st 914 was actually wrecked when two guys from GM were test driving it when I had it for sale. They showed up at my house in an EV1. I guilted them into letting me drive the EV1 after the accident even though I worked for a GM competitor. It was surreal driving with no engine noise. True story!

So, range has gone from about 55 miles to 250-500. Charging times have decreased substantially but still are not competitive with a gasoline fuel fill-up.

It’s all sort of impressive until I realize that I was 40 lbs lighter, had more hair, had skin without wrinkles, and was far more attractive back in 1999. So after 20+ years have gone by, I’m now an old man. EVs are still sort of interesting (especially 0-60 acceleration) but have consistently failed to live up to the hype surrounding them no matter which OEM is pitching them. The next big improvement has always been just around the corner . . . For twenty odd years.

That’s why (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[bbrock]

I just don't see why you think this is so far fetched.

Because I’ve been following EVs and the hype since the EV1 was going to change the world in the 1996 - 1999 era.

My 1st 914 was actually wrecked when two guys from GM were test driving it when I had it for sale. They showed up at my house in an EV1. I guilted them into letting me drive the EV1 after the accident even though I worked for a GM competitor. It was surreal driving with no engine noise. True story!

So, range has gone from about 55 miles to 250-500. Charging times have decreased substantially but still are not competitive with a gasoline fuel fill-up.

It’s all sort of impressive until I realize that I was 40 lbs lighter, had more hair, had skin without wrinkles, and was far more attractive back in 1999. So after 20+ years have gone by, I’m now an old man. EVs are still sort of interesting (especially 0-60 acceleration) but have consistently failed to live up to the hype surrounding them no matter which OEM is pitching them. The next big improvement has always been just around the corner . . . For twenty odd years.

That’s why (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

This is an odd perspective to me considering how much development ICE has been through to get where it is today. It took 50 years for ICE vehicles to replace horses as the most common means of transportation. That took a combination of developing the technology and infrastructure to support it, just like we see with EV. Cars didn't replace trains for long distance travel until a sufficient interstate highway system was developed. Even in my lifetime, traveling in a car for more than a few hundred miles was much more of an adventure than today and was often interrupted by delays waiting to replace a water pump, radiator hose, repair an ignition or change the ubiquitous flat tire. Even when nothing broke, they ran like crap when the elevation changed. Even through the 80s, economically priced cars started to become iffy at ~60K miles and downright unreliable after 100K. With FI, electronic ignition, and other advances, we now routinely travel across the continent in cars with 200K+ miles on the clock with confidence.

Sure, EV has been around as long as ICE, but serious development really didn't start until the very late 1990s. In that time, EV have already gone from hobby novelty to comparable to cars of the 80s in terms of reliability and convenience. Just like ICE before them, EVs have found their value in cities first. Even in the uncivilized EV wasteland around here, Teslas are ubiquitous and mixed with the ICE just like old photos of US cities in the 1920s show Tin Lizzies and horses. True, EVs have not yet matched ICE for range and fueling speed for long distance travel, but they get closer every year. Where you see plodding progress and hype, I see shockingly fast progress and delivering on the promise. Sure, any retailer is going to hype their product, but when I look at what EV has already accomplished and how quickly it has done it, I'm impressed. They are rapidly closing the gap on ICE for most use cases.

In the end though, if the only legacy of the Piech venture is that it leaves @wonkipop with a hood badge he can be proud of, they will have made a significant contribution to automobile history. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)